Electro-conductive fabrics are often used where there is a need for an anti-static performance. Areas that house electronic equipment, including computer manufacturing or storage facilities, information technology rooms, and electronic media rooms are deleteriously affected in the presence of static electricity. For this reason, fabrics introduced to these areas are often fabrics comprised of electro-conductive fibers or treated with an electro-conductive chemistry.
For optimal performance, the electro-conductive material is located on or near the surface of the filament or fiber. Attempts have been made in the past to manufacture electro-conductive filaments or fibers, wherein the conductive material is added to an aqueous solution that may include a binder that is topically applied by either spraying or padding the solution onto the filament; however a topical application adds an extra step to the manufacturing process, while the use of binders adds to cost of the process. Still other methods involve the use of hollow fibers filled with one or more conductive materials or the core of a bi-component fiber being treated with a conductive material.
Despite attempts by the prior art, a need remains for an inexpensive method for making electro-conductive substrates, wherein the anti-static material is affixed to the surface of the filament, fiber, or film for optimal performance.